COMPARISON OF UNSTEADY REYNOLDS-AVERAGED NAVIER-STOKES PREDICTION OF SELF-PROPELLED CONTAINER SHIP SQUAT AGAINST EMPIRICAL METHODS AND BENCHMARK DATA

The demand to increase port throughput has driven container ships to travel relatively fast in shallow water whilst avoiding grounding and hence, there is need for more accurate high-speed squat predictions. A study has been undertaken to determine the most suitable method to predict container ship squat when travelling at relatively high speeds (Frh ≥ 0.5) in finite water depth (1.1 ≤ h/T ≤ 1.3). The accuracy of two novel self-propelled URANS CFD squat model are compared with that of readily available empirical squat prediction formulae. Comparison of the CFD and empirical predictions with benchmark data demonstrates that for very low water depth (h/T < 1.14) and when Frh < 0.46; Barass II (1979), ICORELS (1980), and Millward’s (1992) formulae have the best correlation with benchmark data for all cases investigated. However, at relatively high speeds (Frh ≥ 0.5) which is achievable in deeper waters (h/T ≥ 1.14), most of the empirical formulae severely underestimated squat (7-49%) whereas the quasi-static CFD model presented has the best correlation. The changes in wave patterns and effective wake fraction with respect to h/T are also presented.

Comprehensive Design Method for Open or Ducted Propellers for Underwater Vehicles

A comprehensive method which determines the most efficient propeller blade shapes for a given axisymmetric hull to travel at a desired speed, is presented. A nonlinear optimization method is used to design the blade, the shape of which is defined by a 3-D B-spline polygon, with the coordinates of the B-spline control points being the parameters to be optimized for maximum propeller efficiency, for given effective wake and propeller thrust. The performance of the propeller within the optimization scheme is assessed by a vortex-lattice method (VLM). To account fully for the hull/propeller interaction, the effective wake to the propeller and the hull resistance are determined by analyzing the designed propeller geometry by the VLM, coupled with a Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) solver. The optimization method re-designs the optimum blade with the updated effective wake and propeller thrust (taken to be equal to the updated hull resistance), and the procedure continues until convergence of the propeller performance. The current approach does not require knowledge of the wake fraction or the thrust deduction factor, both of which must be estimated a priori in traditional propeller design. The method is applied for a given hull to travel at a desired speed, and the optimum blades are designed for various combinations of propeller diameter and RPM, in the case of open and ducted propellers with provided duct shapes. The effects of the propeller diameter and RPM on the designed propeller thrust, torque, propeller efficiency, and required power are presented and compared with each other in the case of open and ducted propellers. The present approach is shown to provide guidance on the design of propulsors for underwater vehicles, and is applicable to the design of propulsors for surface ships.

Local flow assessment of the Japan Bulk Carrier using different turbulence models

Ship resistance and powering represent the most important aspects in the initial design stage of the ship. Based on their estimation the basic milestone for selecting the main engine and the propulsion system is established. The majority of ships in the international fleet nowadays rely on the screw propeller working in the wake zone behind the ship. The wake flow of the ship has a direct impact on the propeller performance and the propulsion efficiency. Accurate prediction of the nominal and effective wake is crucially important to provide a proper understanding of the flow where the propeller will perform. From this point of view, the wake flow of the Capesize Japan Bulk Carrier (JBC) is assessed using a viscous flow Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) method. Numerical simulations are performed to predict the nominal and effective wake of the ship by making use of the viscous flow solver ISIS_CFD of the FINETM/Marine software provided by NUMECA. The solver is based on the finite volume method to build the spatial discretization of the transport equation to resolve the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations. Closure to turbulence is achieved using different turbulence models in order to investigate their accuracy in predicting the complex wake flow of the ship. Two-phase flow approach is used to model the air-water interface where the Volume of Fluid method is implemented to capture the free-surface. The results for both nominal and effective wake are assessed against the experimental data provided by the National Maritime Research Institute (NMRI) and Yokohama National University in Japan that were presented in the seventh Workshop on CFD in ship hydrodynamics (Tokyo2015). The results validation showed a reasonable agreement compared to the experimental data for both nominal and effective wake. As it was expected, some turbulence models showed to be more accurate in predicting ship wake, especially the Shear Stress Transport (K-ω SST) and Explicit Algebraic Reynolds Stress (EASM) Models. A special investigation of the flow vortices is also taken into consideration.

Wake optimization of ducted propeller

Object and purpose of research. This paper discusses marine ducted propeller and the ways to ensure its target performance parameters. The purpose of this study was to mitigate unsteady forces on the propeller behind the duct struts. Materials and methods. Analytical estimates of propeller parameters and in-house KSRC methods for numerical simulation of ducted propeller behaviour. Main results. Calculations of effective wake behind duct struts taking into account the flow around hull and its append-ages. Calculations of unsteady forces for a standard propeller operating in this wake. Design of a propeller with increased blade skew. Calculations of unsteady forces for the new propeller in the initial wake. Wake field parameters contributing to mitigation of unsteady forces. Calculations for the new strut shape for wake optimization. Calculations of unsteady force amplitudes for standard propeller in the new wake. Conclusion. Ducted propeller discussed in this study was meant to illustrate how propeller wake properties, like unsteady forces, can be optimized without changing propeller geometry, only by means of curved duct struts.

Simulation of turbulent effective wakes for propellers in off-design conditions by a correction factor approach

This paper presents a procedure for the estimation of propeller effective wakes in oblique flows. It shows how a recently developed method for controlling coupling errors can be applied to analyze propellers operating in off-design conditions. The approach allows the use of fast potential flow methods for the representation of the propeller in the context of viscous flow solvers and works accurately for a wide range of advance numbers and incidence angles with a minimum computational cost. The new method makes it possible to disclose flow phenomena on the effective wake that were hidden in conventional approaches of effective wake simulation. Different application cases are analyzed, such as a propeller-shaft configuration in inclined flow, a pod propulsor in an oblique inflow, and a ship hull advancing at a yaw angle. A dipole-like distortion on the effective wake is unmasked for a uniform flow incident to a propeller mounted on an inclined shaft. The flow component perpendicular to the axis is found to be responsible for the distortion. The effect of the direction of propeller rotation on the effective wake is illustrated for a single-shaft ship moving at a yaw angle. In particular, keel vortices are either attracted to or repelled from the propeller disk depending on the sign of the yaw angle or alternatively on that of the propeller rotation.

Comparison of Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes Prediction of Self-Propelled Container Ship Squat Against Empirical Methods and Benchmark Data

The demand to increase port throughput has driven container ships to travel relatively fast in shallow water whilst avoiding grounding and hence, there is need for more accurate high-speed squat predictions. A study has been undertaken to determine the most suitable method to predict container ship squat when travelling at relatively high speeds (Frh ≥ 0.5) in finite water depth (1.1 ≤ h/T ≤ 1.3). The accuracy of two novel self-propelled URANS CFD squat model are compared with that of readily available empirical squat prediction formulae. Comparison of the CFD and empirical predictions with benchmark data demonstrates that for very low water depth (h/T < 1.14) and when Frh < 0.46; Barass II (1979), ICORELS (1980), and Millward’s (1992) formulae have the best correlation with benchmark data for all cases investigated. However, at relatively high speeds (Frh ≥ 0.5) which is achievable in deeper waters (h/T ≥ 1.14), most of the empirical formulae severely underestimated squat (7-49%) whereas the quasi-static CFD model presented has the best correlation. The changes in wave patterns and effective wake fraction with respect to h/T are also presented.